“Spirit Circle” – Trying to fix the past’s mistakes might take a lifetime

The manga put a spotlight on junior high student Fuuta Okeya who seemed like the average 14-year old teen with the exception of his strange birthmark and eyes that saw ghosts. He hid them from his peers for a long time, but when Kouko Ishigami transferred to his class, the girl with the scar on her forehead knew something was different about him. She had one other peculiar thing; Kouko had a spirit of a man from another time following her, East. Unlike other ghosts, Fuuta saw his past and noticed a girl similar to his new classmate. He tried to shake off the strange dream and be his normal friendly self. However, he slipped by replying to East and caught the attention of Kouko. The surely stoic girl flared with anger after she demanded Fuuta to show his birthmark. She declared him as her nemesis and suddenly attacked him with a strange weapon. She knocked him out and sent him back to one of his tragic past lives. When he awoke, she told him she have him die seven more times. Even though they just met, he realized there was something between them and he must uncover them with his own Spirit Circle.

The manga is quite grim for having a young group of characters, granted that they are currently in junior high school. Readers really feel the confusion and frustration of Fuuta as he has a hard time understanding the hatred Kouko has for the boy. Mizukami presents the story mainly through Fuuta’s eyes so that both would have the same amount of knowledge about situations unlike his counterpart who seems to have all the answers. It really plays on Spanish philosopher George Santayana’s famous words “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” as it appears that each of the boy’s past lives end sometime after their version of Kouko dies. It truly a dark mystery for readers to put together with Fuuta.

Volume Two of “Spirit Circle” will hit shelves in Early January so interested readers can also check out the complete translated series of “Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer” while waiting for the new release. For more information, visit Seven Seas Entertainment’s site.